Hot on the heels of the announcement of its new toy, Surface, Microsoft has bought manufacturer of large touch displays Perceptive Pixel.

Microsoft did not say much of the terms of the acquisition. However, the company said that the purchase should offer up new possibilities for its vendor partners. Namely, Microsoft’s president of the office division Kurt DelBene has revealed that the large touch displays will be combined with OEM hardware to make “powerful Windows 8-based PCS”.

Naturally, with the announcement of Surface, the time is ripe to get the rumor mill up and running, and quite rightfully so. Despite what Microsoft would have the public think, announcing Surface and buying a large touch display maker afterwards suggests we may see a mega-Surface or something along those lines.

Seeing as how Microsoft primarily focused on software solutions, the purchase will definitely make its job easier, at least on the touch panel front. The deal is pending regulatory approval.